Public Disclosure Of Private Facts: Recent Privacy Law Decisions

In 2012 the Ontario Court of Appeal was presented, in the case of Jones v. Tsige, with a stark question: Does the common law of Ontario recognize a right to a civil action for damages for invasion of personal privacy?¹

The answer to the question was held, at the time, to be properly answered in the affirmative, although questions about the scope of these claims do remain. The purpose of this brief paper is to outline typical privacy law remedies and highlight, in particular, the status of the law in Ontario in relation to scenarios involving public disclosure of private facts.

Background

Understandably, the wonders and perils of our new 'cyber age' are often the subject of social and industry discussion. Many of us are concerned about privacy because we are, intentionally or otherwise, continuously eroding it. Our basic vital statistics and financial data in particular are transmitted, collected and stored on a daily basis. At the same time, with the advent of